Enable/Disable Proxy Settings (Easy Way)

[Michael]

Hello all,

Due to popular demand I've created a menu driven tool which will easily enable or disable proxy settings on Windows 2000/XP/2003 running IE6 or IE7. I haven't tried it on Vista, however if someone could try, it'd be much appreciated.

I regularly get told that users cannot connect to the net at home and 9 times out of 10 it is because of proxy settings. Please note this pack will not overwrite enforced GPOs by administrators, but only on notebooks (for example) away from the network in a standalone environment.

You can download the pack here and download anywhere to your computer. Running the pack will extract it to C:\ProxySettings and will automatically start the menu. The rest is self explanatory. A desktop shortcut is also automatically created.

The proxy settings will be changed to "eduproxy.bgfl.org:80". I can create other packs for other LAs. Just let me know what your proxy and port is.

TIA

[GrumbleDook]

That's handy.

For EMBC it is proxy.embc.uk.com:80

[mac_shinobi]

http://www.proxychanger.com/

Allows you to add your own proxy and it has a system tray icon where you can enable or disable the proxy on the fly ( without needing to close or re open IE )

You can also set the schools proxy as the default.

[Michael]

Thanks GrumbleDook

[Michael]

Nice little app gecko. I suppose the only downside is it needs installing whereas my pack just runs. Having the app constantly running is another disadvantage, depending how much memory it consumes!

[mac_shinobi]

running currently on my machine at 4.5mb and you can use advanced installer to convert it into an msi to use GPO to push it out to the laptops.

[kestrel1]

I made something similar, but you just run a shortcut that is on the desktop. run once & it tells you that the proxy is set, run again & you are told the proxy is removed. Basically it is just a single .reg file that is installed to the registry.
It will only work on XP or older systems, as Windows Vista requires authorization to make changes to the registry. There is a way around this, but not a good idea for teachers laptops, as it will always allow changes. I just need to find a way around this.
Michael, I suspect you would have the same issues with Vista as I am having, as I can see you are using .reg files also. If I find a solution I will let you know.
Also the shortcut won't install to the desktop as Vista uses a different directory structure for the user desktop folder.
I looked at ProxyChanger, but didn't like it. It would confuse our teachers.

[mac_shinobi]

Internet Explorer Quick Proxy Changer

found the one above - there are plenty of them around.

Just a case of a google search

[DSapseid]

WSGFL proxy is proxy.wsgfl.org.uk@8080

[Michael]

Yes you're absolutely right kestrel1. Creating a desktop shortcut shouldn't be the problem. I'm guessing Vista uses a different variable for C:\Users\ instead of %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Desktop for C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop

As for entering registry entries into Vista, I've never tried and I suspect it's the UAC that's blocking that. I don't know of a way to run reg files silently on Vista.

[Michael]

Thanks DSapseid

[kestrel1]

Michael, yes it is the UAC, this can be turned off but is not a good idea. I will look at the desktop shortcut problem when I next get a chance to look at a Vista machine. I am looking into running reg files silently on Vista as well.

[kestrel1]

Michael, I made an error. Just got access to a Vista machine. Your install goes on to a Vista machine & will run, because .reg files are caught by the UAC & you have to give permission. The only thing it doesn't do is add an icon to everyones desktop.
My error was, my install uses a VBscript & this will run, but do nothing because it is not caught by the UAC. Still working on that.
If I find a solution to the desktop icon I will post it.

[kestrel1]

Just a bit more info on the Vista problem, Although the reg files run & change the settings, IE7 doesn't always recognize the fact & continues to use the original settings.
Say you want to disable the proxy.
The Registry is physically changed, but the settings do not change for IE7. It still uses the proxy. A logoff/login sorts it out, but is annoying. I have now found this is what is happening with my VBscript.
Just found the variable for the Public Desktop: %public%\Desktop
However you will get an access denied error unless you can run as administrator. Looking in to that now.

[bmdixon]

I've written a small exe file which does this.
it uses the same principal (modifying the registry) but it is done without using .reg files. It will run in the system tray and changing to any number of different proxies using a simple text file.
It works on Vista too (as far as i can tell) and also notifies ie of a change so it should work with open browsers too.

(Although this has been tested on several machines there may still be bugs so use at your own risk, but please tell me so i can fix them! )

iProxy.exe
The program.

settings.ini
The proxies you wish to use in the form:
<server>:<port>;<friendly name>
eg. eduproxy.bgfl.org:80;BGFL Proxy

You can simply run iProxy.exe and it will read the proxies entered into settings.ini.
If you run iProxy.exe \\<yourservername>\netlogon\settings.ini (or wherever you place a settings file for everyone to use) it will attempt to read the settings from a central location and save them locally (as settings.ini). This allows you to update the settings easily if you need to change them. If it can't find the specified file it will attempt to read them from the local file. If it can't find them there either it will show an error message and quit.